Machine for centering sugar bags on carrying belts



Feb. 2, 1932. H ss 1,843,281

MACHINE FOR CENTERING SUGAR BAGS ON CARRYING BELTS Filed Jan. 7, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 9 3 InvenTor WI III'am H Headless er Jig fi m W Feb. 2, 1932. w. H. HOODLESS 1,843,281

MACHINE FOR CENTERING SUGAR BAGS UN CARRYING BELTS Filed Jan. 7. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M r *W @H.

hmm Wm Patented Feb. 2, 19 327 TATES WILLIAM H. HOODLESS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA MACHINE FOR CENTERING SUGAR BAGS ON CARRYING- BELTS Application filed January 7, 1928. Serial No. 245,230.

' Refineries that receive sugar by ship usually receive it in the form known as raw sugar, in large bags made of burlap or simi lar textile material. These bags are emptied into bins where it awaits the refining processes. These bins usually are located quite a distance from the wharf at which the ship docks, and the sugar bags are conveyed from the vicinity of the ship to the bins on a continuously traveling belt, in refineries that are equipped with modern appliances. This belt may be fed by placing the bags directly upon it, but usually a feeding belt is provided with a discharge adjacent to the loading point of the main belt. This feeding belt usually travels intermittently. Its movement is underthe control of those directly engaged in loading sugar on the main belt. Usually the sugar bags are deposited in heaps on the feeding belt and from it dumped on the main belt as evenly as practicable.

The main belt travels at a considerable and usually continuous speed. It is driven usually by driving drums, or similar devices. It is supported throughout by rollers or similar supporting means to enable it to support the heavy weight of the sugar bags.

In the operation of the device, some of the sugar bags are deposited on the main belt in positions where they project partly over its edge, or lie so closed to its edge that they cannot be carried satisfactorily by it. The weight of such bags and the continuous travel of this main belt makes the manual adjust ment of these bags difiicult.

The purpose of my invention is to adjust mechanically, these bags upon the belt so that they are pushed mechanically toward the middle portion of the belt. My device comprises rotating pushers that are placed staggered from each other on opposite sides of the belt. These pushers may be a single pair of pulleys, a line of rotating pulleys, or may take a caterpillar form. Where the device is other than a single pair of pulleys, the pushers farthest along the belt in the direction of its movement, are advantageously placed to push the bags farthest towards the middle of the belt. These pushers may be driven by the bags as they are carried along by the belt, or power driven. In the latter case, they should be driven at approximately 'are driven by the bags, the surface where they contact with the bags should engage with them.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my device, wherein is shown a single pair of rotating pushers, positioned on opposite sides of the main belt or conveyor. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the face of the rotating pusher of the type shown in Fig. 1, illustrating its means of engagement with the bags. Fig. 4 is a plan View of a modified form of my device where a plurality of pushers is arranged, staggered on opposite sides of the belt. Fig. 5 is a plan view of my device with rotating caterpillar pushers.

Describing now the form of device shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive :The main bag carrying belt 1 travels continuously and is adapted to carry the sugar bags. The rotating pushers, 3, 3, are placed at its sides, one being more advanced in the direction of the belts movement than the other. The pusher is mounted on a vertical shaft 2, that has bearings 4 (preferably roller bearings) in a bearing block 7 that is adjustable in a box 5 in a direction toward and away from the edges of the belt 1, under the drive of the screw 10, by which it is held in position. It can by this means be adjusted relatively to the belt. IVhen these pushers are-driven by amotor,the'ymay be provided with a sprocket wheel 14-, and a driving chain 12; where they are driven by the bags movement, these parts may be omitted. l/Vhere the pusher 3 is driven by the chain and sprocket wheel, the peripheral speed of rotation should be a proximately the speed of the travel of t e belt 1. A slight excess of speed of the surface movement of the pushers 3 is not objectionable, and indeed, may be sometimes beneficial, because it tends to prevent the bags from being pushed back on the belt 1, because the component of motion of the pushing surfaces in the direction of the belts motion where they contact first with the bags is 100 Kill slower than that of the belt. This can occur readily even when the pushers peripheral speed of rotation exceeds the forward speed of the belt 1.

The circumferential surface of the pusher 3, when it is rotated by the bags should have the engagers 11, that grasp the bags and cause the latter to revolve the pusher 3. They are very conveniently short pieces of angle iron, secured as by screws or bolts to the clrcumferential surface of the pushers 3. Where the pushers are driven by the bags engaging with the parts 11, 11, this engagement should be substantial, so as to insure that the pusher will turn with the forward travel of the bag. These engaging devices sink into the sugar bags, that, usually, are somewhat yielding, and give the bags a firm grip on them, caus ing the bags and pushers to move together. When the bags on the belt 1, project over the edge of the belt, or lie too close to Its edges for safe carriage they are grasped by the pushers 3, and as the latter rotate the bags are pushed toward the middle of the belt 1.

The necessity for the pushers revolving so that it will not act as an abutment retarding he bags and tend to push the bags back on the belt 1 as a stationary pusher might is apparent. The bags are very heavy and frequently sticky, and a combined movement of pushing both inward and backward readily might break the bags and spill the sugar.

In the form of my device illustrated in Fig. 1, a series of rotating pushers 20, 21 and 22 are placed at the sides of the belt 1, and are positioned at various distances from the mid dle of the belt. Those most distant from the middle are placed in positions back of those nearer this middle. This arrangement divides the amount of pushing produced by each pusher. I have shown in this form of my device all the pushers travel together and the contact of a bag with any one of them will cause the rotation of all. In Fig. a modification is shown. Two rigidly supported pulleys 55 and 56 are set staggered from each other. The pulleys 57 and 58, carry along with the rigidly supported pulleys 55 and 56, the belts having the cleats 58. The yielding of the belts 50 having the cleats 53, brings a number of the cleats into embracing contact with the bags as they are pushed and centred on the belt, by these pulleys and 56. It will be noted that all of the pushers are set so that they oppose a positive resistance to the continued movement of an errant bag along a path overlapping or too close to the edges of the belt and that these bags are positively forced inward towards the centre of the belt by the pushers as they revolve, because these pushers are unyieldingly set in unyielding bearings and are unyieldingly supported against any outward pressure caused by the bags as they are moved by the belt. Many changes may be made in the details of the device so long as the requisites set forth just above are maintained.

1 claim:

1. A bag centering device for a belt conveyor on which conveyor raw sugar bags are carried towards the raw sugar bins, comprising in combination with the main conveying belt rotating pushers having rigid bearings on which they rotate and having the portions thereof contacting with the bags rigidly supported and having on the surfaces engaging with said bags means for engaging therewith projecting from said surfaces, said pushers being positioned adjacent to the receiving end of said belt.

2. A bagcentering device for a belt conveyor on which conveyor bags of raw sugar are carried towards the raw sugar bins, comprising in combination with the main conveying belt, rotating pushers consisting of pulleys positioned at the side of the belt and projecting slightly over the upper face thereof, unyielding bearings for said pulleys, the walls of said pulleys contacting with the bags being unyieldingly supported from said bearings and being provided with engaging means, projecting from the walls of said pulleys that contact with said bags.

3. The device as defined in claim 1, wherein the means for engaging the sugar bags are crosswise running pieces of angle iron bolted to the face of the rotating pusher that engages with said bags.

4. In a device for centering sugar bags on the main conveyor belt, the combination with this belt, of rotating pushers, a plurality of said pushers being positioned on each side of the belt, rigid hearings on which each of said pushers rotate, and having the faces of said pushers contacting with the bags, said pushers being provided with engaging means extending outwardly from said faces and engaging with said sugar bags on said belt, and being rigidly supported, the pushers on both sides of said conveying belt, nearer the loading end, having their faces, contacting with the sugar bags, extending a less distance over the belt than those more distant from said loading end.

5. The device as defined in claim 4, wherein rotating pushers on one side of the said belt are positively connected together.

6. The device as defined in claim 4, wherein the face of the rotary pushers farther from the point of loading of the main belt, revolve at a speed exceeding that of those nearer the said loading point.

7. A bag centering device for a belt conveyor on which conveyor raw sugar bags are carried toward the raw sugar bins, comprising in combination with the main conveying belt, rotating pushers consisting of pulleys positioned on opposite sides of said belt and placed in staggered positions with reference to each other, unyielding bearings for said pulleys, and bag engaging devices placed on the faces of said pulleys engaging with the sugar bags on said belt.

8. The device as defined in claim 7 wherein the unyielding bearings are provided with means for adjusting them towards and away from the belt.

9. A bag centering device for a belt conveyor for raw sugar bags comprising in combination with the main conveyor belt of rotating pushers, comprising a series of pushing means located on opposite sides of the belt and staggered with reference to each other, the portions of the pushers contacting with the bags being rigidly supported and being provided with means of engagement therewith.

WILLIAM H. HOODLESS. 

